Shipping and display cartons



Nov. 21, 1961 5. J. LEONE 3,009,565

SHIPPING AND DISPLAY CARTONS Filed Sept. 13, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 21, 1961 5. J. LEONE 3,009,565

SHIPPING AND DISPLAY CARTONS Filed Sept. 15, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,009,565 SHIPPING AND DISPLAY CARTONS Salvatore J. Leone, Wallingford, Conn., assignor to The New Haven Board & Carton Company, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Sept. 13, 1960, Ser. No. 55,792

3 Claims. (Cl. 20645.14)

This invention relates to cartons used for the shipping of articles of merchandise and capable of being opened and adjusted to serve as display stands for their contents in retail stores. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a novel carton, in which one or more articles of irregular shape can be securely mounted and protected against damage in shipping, the carton being so constructed that it can be readily converted into a display stand. In the stand, the articles are in full view and can be easily removed from their mountings for inspection and then replaced. While the new carton can be employed for articles of various kinds, it is especially satisfactory for the distribution of toy automatic pistols and a form of the carton for such use will be illustrated and describedin detail forpurposes of explanation.

One form of toy pistol now popular bears a general resemblance to "a conventional automatic pistol but has a magazine of drum form disposed in front of the trigger guard with; its parallel to and below that of the barrel. As the magazine projects outwardly at both sides beyond the barrel and grip, the toy pistol is of irregular shape and it is difficult to pack it securely in a carton in such manner that it will be protected from injury during transportation and will be fully visible when the carton is set up for display.

The carton of the invention provides support and protection during shipment for an article of irregular shape, such as the toy pistol described, and can be quickly changed into a stand, on which the article is displayed. The carton comprises a body formed of connected front, rear, and end walls and a bottom, and a cover hinged to the upper edge of the rear wall and foldable forwardly to close the top of the body. A display panel hinged to the front edge of the cover can be folded back against the under surface of the cover and it may carry appropriate printed matter on its lower face. A pair of wing panels are connected to respective end edges of the display panel and, when folded to lie at a right angle to the infolded display panel, the wing panels may be inserted into the body to lie opposed to the inner faces of the end walls. The wing panels have openings for receiving parts of the pistol, such as the ends of the barrel and the breech bolt, and the display panel may have an opening to receive the rim of the magazine. When the pistol is mounted in the openings with the display panel infolded and the wing panels within the body, the pistol is well supported and protected. By raising the cover and swinging the display panel forwardly, the rear edges of the wing panels may be placed upon the top edge of the front wall. The display and wing panels are then in full view as is the pistol and the latter may easily be removed from its mounting in the panels for inspection and quickly put back.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank suitable for conversion into a carton for a toy automatic pistol;

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective showing one stage in the conversion of the blank into a carton;

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective showing the completed carton with the cover open;

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of the closed carton with parts broken away;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view on the line 5-5 FIG. 4; and

3,009,565 Patented Nov. 21, 1961 ICE FIG. 6 is a view in perspective of the carton arranged to form a display stand.

The blank 10 illustrated is for conversion into a carton for a single toy pistol and it may be made of various materials such as paperboard, corrugated board, etc. The blank shown is made of corrugated board and includes an inner front wall panel 11, an outer front wall panel 12, a bottom 13, a rear wall panel 14, a cover 15, and a display panel 16, the panels being hinged together along crease lines to lie in a row. A pair of outer end wall panels 17, 18 are hinged to respective end edges of the bottom 13 and a pair of inner end wall panels 19, 20 are hinged to the edges of respective panels 17, 18, which lie remote from the bottom 13. A pair of wing panels 21, 22 are hinged to the opposite end edges of the display panel 16 and a pair of flaps 23, 24 are hinged to opposite end edges of the rear wall panel 14. Similar flaps 25, 26 are hinged to respective edges of the panels 17, 18 to lie at opposite ends of the outer front wall panel 12.

In converting the blank into a carton, the blank is laid on a fiat surface and the flaps 23, 24 are folded to -Ver tical position, after which the rear wall 14 is to be swung upwardly. The inner end wall panels 19, 20 are folded in over their related outer end wall panels 17, 18 and panels 17, 18 are swung toward the vertical. As panels 17, 18 are thus being moved, the rear wall 14 is being moved upwardly and the flaps 23, 24 are inserted between the related end wall panels 17, 19 and 18, 20, respectively. The inner end wall panels 19, 20 have respective projections 19a, 20a on their free lower edges, which are receivable in openings 27, 28 at the opposite ends of the bottom 13. When the outer end wall panels 17, 18 are erect, their related inner end wall panels 19, 20 extend down over flaps 23, 24 and the projections 19a, 20a on the inner end wall panels are inserted into respective openings 27, 28. The flaps 23, 24 lying between the related inner and outer end Wall panels and the engagement of the projections 19a, 20a in the openings 27, 28 hold the rear and end walls erect.

The flaps 25, 26 on the outer end wall panels 17, 18 are next folded toward each other and the outer front wall panel 12 is folded to vertical position against the outer faces of the flaps 25, 26. The inner front wall panel 11 is turned down to lie against the inner faces of the flaps 25, 26 and a projection 11a on panel 11 is inserted into opening 29 at the forward edge of the bottom.

To mount the toy pistol in position in the carton, the display panel 16 is folded to lie against the inner face of the cover 15 and the wing panels 21, 22 are folded to lie parallel to each other and to extend away from the cover panel. The wing panel 21 is formed with an opening 20a of a size to receive the rear end of the breech bolt of the pistol and the panel 22 has a pair of openings 22a to receive the forward end of the barrel and a spring housing beneath it. Before the wing panels are brought into parallelism, the pistol shown at P in dotted lines in FIG. 6, is placed between the panels so that, as the panels move to parallel position, the parts of the pistol referred to will enter the openings in the panels. At the same time, the rim of the drum of the pistol will enter an opening 16a in the display panel 16.

When the pistol has been mounted in the wing panel openings, the cover can be swung down so that the wing panels pass into the carton along the inner faces of the inner end wall panels 19, 20. The wing panels have projections 21b, 22b on their forward edges adapted to enter cutouts 11b in the end edges of the inner front wall panel 11. As the cover is swung down to lower the wing panels into the carton, the projections on the wing panels ultimately enter the cutouts and accidental raising of the cover is then prevented. When the cover has been closed as described, the pistol is secured in position so that it cannot shift during transportation of the carton.

When it is desired to use the carton for display purposes, the cover 15 is raised to withdraw the wing panels 21, 22 from the carton. When the cover is almost in vertical position, the display panel 16 is swung forwardly so that the lower edges of the wing panels overlie the upper edge of the front wall. In order that the cover and display and wing panels may be held firmly in the position stated, the inner and outer front wall panels are formed with openings 30, 31 which form slots extending across the fold line, along which the panels are connected. The wing panels are provided with notches 21c, 220 in their lower edges and the lower edges of the panels may be inserted in the slots 30, 31 with the edges of the notches engaging the inner and outer front walls.

When the carton has been set up for display purposes, the pistol is fully visible and can he slipped out of the wing panels for inspection. Return of the pistol to its mounting in the panels is easy and the carton can then be quickly closed by freeing the wing panels from the slots in the upper edge of the front wall, moving the display panel back against the inner face of the cover, and lowering the cover and wing panels into the carton. As the cover moves down to the horizontal, the projections 21b, 22b on the panels again enter the openings 11b on the inner front wall and lock the cover in place.

I claim:

1. A shipping and display carton which comprises a body formed of connected front, rear, and end walls and a bottom, the front wall having recesses adjacent its ends, a cover hinged to the top edge of the rear wall and of a size to close the top of the body, a display panel hinged to the front edge of the cover and foldable against the under side of the cover and-receivable within the body, a pair of wing panels hinged to the end edges of the display panel and receivable within the body when folded at an angle to the display panel, the wing panels having openings for receiving parts of an article, and projections at the front ends of the wing panels receivable in respective recesses in the front wall.

2. The carton of claim 1, in which the front wall is formed of an outer panel hinged to the front edge of the bottom and an inner panel hinged to the top edge of the outer panel and lying opposed to the inner face thereof and the recesses are formed in the inner panel only.

3 The carton of claim 1, in which the upper edge of the front wall and the rear edges of the wing panels have interengageable parts for holding the wing panels erect and at an angle to the front wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 291,604 Knowles Jan. 8, 1884 1,411,678 Walker Apr. 4, 1922 1,563,148 Bartol Nov. 24, 1925 2,960,149 Throssel Nov. 15, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 110,027 Great Britain Oct. 5, 1917 

